Advent Season
(Anticipating the Birth of Jesus)
28 Names of Jesus | January 2, 2021
Name #29: “Jesus” (Matthew 1:21)
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The name “Jesus” is clearly defined in Matthew 1:21. It means savior, it means salvation from God.1 It means that God sent His Son to the world so that all who believe in him will have eternal life (John 3:16). This is something Christians know but often struggle to articulate. What I’ve found helpful is the gospel acrostic put out by Dare 2 Share.2
God created us to be with him.
Our sins separate us from God.
Sin cannot be removed by good deeds.
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.
Everyone who believes in that sacrifice will have life.
Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.
I use this acrostic when teaching our teens how to share their faith and as a baseline when I am having gospel conversations with people. The key point in the message of the gospel is that there is no way to make up for our sins. When we mess up with people, oftentimes in our remorse, we try to “make up” for the bad thing we did by doing something good. We cannot do that with God. Because God is perfect in His holiness, He is “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Isaiah 6:3) — He is without blemish or fault. There is no sin in Him. So there is no way that our good deeds can ever meet the standard of God’s holiness. They cannot remove our sin. Because God is just, there has to be payment for that sin. However, because He is also merciful, He found a way for His Son to pay the penalty for our sins so we don’t have to.
Every time I think about that truth, I get a bit emotional. God knew we couldn’t live up to His standard of holiness. He knew we couldn’t perfectly keep the law, so He sent His Son Who was perfect so we don’t have to be perfect. I did nothing to deserve this gift, yet it’s because of God’s infinite love that it was offered to me.
I get emotional because I do not believe that I live my life in a way that honors that gift. I didn’t deserve this gift, and even after accepting it, I still don’t deserve it. That is what makes the message of the gospel so appealing — that there is a God that loves us enough to send His Son to die for us while we have done nothing to deserve it (Romans 5:8).
I had a conversation with a friend once that started with the question being asked to me, “Do you believe God desires us?” My response was that I believe that’s exactly what makes the Christian faith so appealing. There is a God Who by definition has every right to want nothing to do with us, yet He so desires a relationship with us — with me — that He sent His Son to save me.
That is a gift I am forever grateful for!
Adam Deering
- Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 6). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
- https://www.dare2share.org/training/how-to-share-the-gospel/